The present invention relates to management and maintenance of telecommunications infrastructure, and more particularly to an automated system for managing a plurality of remotely located sites owned, operated and/or serviced by a plurality of system users.
Telecommunications companies often have a large number of remotely located equipment sites. These sites typically include telecommunications equipment, telecommunications cables, and pathways for running cables. These pathways may be occupied by cables or other equipment, may be damaged, destroyed or otherwise unable to receive cables, or may be unoccupied and ready to receive cables.
The telecommunications equipment sites are frequently numerous, remote from the main office of the telecommunications company and/or unmanned and undergo frequent changes. Accordingly, telecommunications companies often lose track and control over what equipment and cables, or which pathways for running cables, are installed, in use, damaged or available for use at any particular site.
These problems are exacerbated when two or more telecommunications companies jointly own, operate and/or service telecommunications equipment at the same equipment sites, as is often the case with public infrastructure sites, such as manholes. Each manhole may be maintained by many telecommunications companies, each one having telecommunications equipment and/or cables located in the same manhole, and each one owning the rights to different pathways within the manhole. In such cases, it is extremely difficult for one telecommunications company to know what equipment and cables are present at any given site, particularly when such equipment and cables have been installed by other telecommunications companies.
Moreover, conflicts may frequently occur when two or more telecommunications companies desire to access the same site at the same time. For example, manholes typically have very limited space, and it is often impossible for more than one worker to operate in the manhole at a time. Thus, if one telecommunications company has a worker operating in a manhole, and a work team from another company arrives at the site seeking to access the same manhole, problems may occur relating to who should have priority in accessing the site. This is particularly troublesome when large scale construction projects involving multiple telecommunications companies are under way.
What is desired, therefore, is a system for managing telecommunications infrastructure which automatically manages a plurality of remotely located sites, which monitors what equipment and cables, or which pathways for running cables, are installed, in use, damaged or available for use at any particular site, which automatically manages sites owned, operated and/or serviced by a plurality of system users, and which automatically maintains access schedules for the sites so as to minimize conflicts that may occur when two or more telecommunications companies desire to access the same site.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for managing telecommunications infrastructure which automatically manages a plurality of remotely located sites.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for managing telecommunications infrastructure having the above characteristics and which monitors what equipment and cables, or which pathways for running cables, are installed, in use, damaged or available for use at any particular site.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for managing telecommunications infrastructure having the above characteristics and which automatically manages sites owned, operated and/or serviced by a plurality of system users.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system for managing telecommunications infrastructure having the above characteristics and which automatically maintains access schedules for the sites so as to minimize conflicts that may occur when two or more telecommunications companies desire to access the same site.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by provision of a system for managing telecommunications infrastructure including a computer and a communications link between the computer and a plurality of users. In one aspect, the system includes a sites database accessible by the computer, the sites database having stored thereon site information relating to a plurality of telecommunications sites, and being accessible by a site identifier. Software executing on the computer receives from the plurality of users through the communications link a site identifier indicative of a site of interest, and retrieves from the sites database and transmits to the plurality of users through the communications link information relating to the site of interest. Software executing on the computer is also provided for receiving from the plurality of users through the communications link a site update for a site which has been updated, and for updating the site information relating to the updated site on the sites database. Thus, the system facilitates the management of telecommunications infrastructure by allowing a user to access the most current information available regarding a plurality of telecommunications sites, even if it was another user which was the last to update the sites.
Preferably, the site information may comprise graphical representations of the current status of the plurality of telecommunications sites, photographs of the plurality of telecommunications sites, or data indicative of the current status of the plurality of telecommunications sites. In the last case, the system most preferably includes software for generating, based upon the data indicative of the current status of the plurality of telecommunications sites, graphical representations of the current status of the plurality of telecommunications sites.
Also preferably, the site information may comprise an indication of which equipment and cables are installed at the plurality of telecommunications sites and/or an indication of which pathways are in use, damaged or available at the plurality of telecommunications sites.
In another aspect, the system includes a schedules database accessible by the computer, the schedules database having stored thereon schedule maintenance plans relating to a plurality of telecommunications sites, and being accessible by a site identifier. Software executing on the computer receives from the plurality of users through the communications link a work order for a site to be accessed, the work order comprising a site identifier indicative of the site to be accessed. Software executing on the computer then retrieves from the schedules database and transmits to the plurality of users through the communications link a schedule maintenance plan relating to the site to be accessed. Software executing on the computer is also provided for receiving from the plurality of users through the communications link an indication of a desired time period for access to the site to be accessed. Software executing on the computer then, if no scheduling conflict is determined to exist, updates the schedule maintenance plan relating to the site to be accessed on the schedules database to reflect the indication of the desired time period for access to the site to be accessed.
Preferably, software executing on the computer is provided for receiving from the plurality of users through the communication link documentation relating to the work order. It is also preferable that the work order includes an indication of whether the work order relates to an emergency situation, and the system further includes an emergencies database accessible by the computer, the emergencies database having stored thereon emergency notifications relating to a plurality of telecommunications sites, and being accessible by a site identifier. In such a case, software executing on the computer is provided for, if the work order relates to an emergency situation, updating the emergency notification on the emergencies database relating to the site identifier included in the work order to reflect the emergency situation.
Preferably, the schedule maintenance plans comprise graphical representations of scheduled time periods when the plurality of telecommunications sites are available for access, or data indicative of scheduled time periods when the plurality of telecommunications sites are available for access. In the latter case, the system most preferably includes software for generating, based upon the data indicative of scheduled time periods when the plurality of telecommunications sites are available for access, graphical representations of scheduled time periods when the plurality of telecommunications sites are available for access.
In yet another aspect, the system includes a pathways database accessible by the computer, the pathways database having stored thereon pathway ownership data indicative of which pathways in and between telecommunications sites are owned by which users and which pathways are available for use, the pathway ownership data being accessible by a user identifier. Software executing on the computer receives from the plurality of users through the communications link a user identifier for a particular user. Software executing on the computer then retrieves from the pathways database pathway ownership data indicative of which pathways are owned by the particular user and which pathways owned by the particular user are available for use. Software executing on the computer is also provided for receiving from the plurality of users through the communications link an indication of a desired start site and a desired end site for a cable to be run. Software executing on the computer next calculates and transmits to the plurality of users through the communications link, based upon the desired start site, the desired end site, and the retrieved pathway ownership data, at least one pathway for running the cable, and receives an indication from the plurality of users through the communications link of a selected pathway for running the cable. Finally, software executing on the computer updates the pathway ownership data on the schedules database to reflect the selected pathway for running the cable.
In one embodiment, the software executing on the computer for calculating and transmitting to the plurality of users through the communications link, based upon the desired start site, the desired end site, and the retrieved pathway ownership data, at least one pathway for running the cable, and for receiving an indication from the plurality of users through the communications link of a selected pathway for running the cable comprises software executing on the computer for transmitting to the plurality of users at least one site to which the cable can be run from the desired start site, and for receiving from the plurality of users an indication of a selected next site, and software executing on the computer for, if the selected end site has not been reached, transmitting to the plurality of users at least one site to which the cable can be run from the desired start site, for receiving from the plurality of users an indication of a selected next site, and for repeating such transmission and receipt until the selected end site has been reached.
The invention and its particular features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings.